Sangamon Sun

Illinois was not in the best of financial shape going into the COVID-19 pandemic, but the state's cash crisis has only gotten worse, alarming many lawmakers.

According to Illinois Policy, the Prairie State unfortunately boasts the worst public pension debt in the nation, a hundreds-of-billions deficit that has grown by 19% each year. In 2017, the state vowed to sell over $6 billion in bonds to reduce annual interest accrual and chip away at the then-$16.4 billion bill backlog. 

Despite some progress, Illinois has remained in a money crisis since then. State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) says it's time to take serious action, noting that the state still has and will continue to have structural problems. 

"[...] We haven't tackled the pension issue yet in Illinois," Butler said last month on WTTC Chicago. "It's going to continue to be an issue when we craft the budget. I think immediately what we have in front of us is an opportunity with the federal money to pay down a significant portion of our bill backlog."

Butler pointed out that the bill backlog has decreased to approximately $5.5 billion, but that doesn't touch the monumental pension debt looming over the state. 

Illinois' pension debt has been the worst in the country since 2014, with the debt measured against the state's gross domestic product. 

Illinois Policy says that the state government has a habit of underestimating its own pension debt, and lowballs the taxpayer revenue necessary to keep the debt from stacking year after year, resulting in annual taxpayer contributions exceeding projected amounts by 15% each year. 

"Still, that extra money has not slowed a mushrooming pension debt," Illinois Policy wrote. "The state’s regular upward revisions demonstrate Moody’s method, which is more in line with private sector standards, is more accurate."